On John Paul 11's decision to stay in office to the end, papal hagiographer, George Weigel said:
His last years were full of pain and suffering. Yet he never tried to hide his deteriorating physical capacities; he seemed unembarrassed by frailty; and by continuing his papal service until the very end, he fulfilled the pledge he believed he had made to the Church, and to the Church’s Lord, at his election on October 16, 1978—the pledge to spend out his life in strengthening his Christian brothers and sisters in their faith.
On Benedict XVI's decision to resign, Weigel said:
“It’s a great statement about the humility of Joseph Ratzinger. In a strange way, this is his last great service to the Church. He wants the Church to have the kind of strong leadership that it needs.”
I liked the modest title of Weigel's bio of Benedict, "God's Choice."
The two decisions are certainly mutually exclusive, but it's possible to learn from experience. I think it's pretty clear Benedict is right on this one. As a member of the inner circle during John Paul's long decline he knows exactly how bad it can get when the Pope can no longer function, and with today's health care an incapacitated Pope can last a long time.
Posted by: Hypatia | February 17, 2013 at 11:47 PM
Weigel is clearly a papal hero-worshiper. He's what passes for a "Catholic intellectual" these days.
Posted by: John Petty | February 19, 2013 at 09:33 AM